Garen's jab left Howard with no way to retort. It seemed that aside from having a good brain, he really was rather useless at everything else. Still, Howard was not worried. Since Josh had come looking for him, it meant there had to be something Josh valued in him.
Josh readily admitted that, because it was the truth. After all, in one future timeline, Tony Stark had a path that could lead him to become the Sorcerer Supreme. As Tony's father, Josh truly did not believe Howard lacked talent. If he really did, then it could only mean that his wife possessed that talent.
And so, for many days afterward, Howard studied with Master Ancient One in Josh's library. Perhaps because Howard and Master Ancient One came from the same world, Master Ancient One was not stingy and properly taught Howard quite a bit of knowledge. Of course, much of it had come from Josh's library.
Ancient One later specifically spoke with Josh, saying that she had discovered Howard did indeed possess considerable magical talent. This delighted Josh greatly. It seemed that Tony, in another future timeline, would also have quite impressive magical talent. Josh even wondered whether he should send Tony to Hogwarts to study for a while when the time came.
"Uh, forget it. If Iron Man disappears and turns into some flashy wizard instead, that would be no fun. We'll talk about it after he becomes Iron Man."
After thinking it over, Josh decided against it. If he really made Iron Man disappear, there would be much less fun to be had. Although Josh had always been dedicated to spoiling plots and rewriting stories, there was no need to ruin all the entertaining parts.
"Anyway, Howard has already been arranged for in advance, so he won't die.